When the A’s announced they were issuing a five-year contract, it would have been easy to think Josh Donaldson.

Baseball’s best bargain made $492,500 last season, finished fourth in the MVP voting and got a whopping $7,500 raise to $500,000 – the new minimum salary.

But it wasn’t Donaldson getting the multiyear deal. It was Sean Doolittle.

Long-term deals often are accompanied by out-of-this-world dollars, so Doolittle would get, what, north of $20 million? After all, he has been around a long time, right? First big-league camp was 2009.

No, that was in his past life, as a first baseman. Fact is, he has fewer than two full seasons in the majors, and the five-year contract (2014 to 2018) doesn’t touch his free agency, so the deal is guaranteed for a mere $10.5 million.

But five years for a non-closer? Actually, the deal would be worth more on the back end if he evolves into a closer, thanks to incentives based on games finished, and he has two club options totaling $12.5 million. Plus, his guarantee increases $3.25 million if he qualifies for arbitration a year early.

If you think that’s intricate, consider the first five-year deal for a reliever that I remember was Rich Gossage‘s, back in 1984 with the Padres, and he’s still getting paid. It was a $6.25 million contract, including deferred payments from 1990 through 2016.

Goose is 62 and might have lost zip on his fastball, but his contract outlasts Chase Headley‘s.

B.J. Ryan got a five-year deal from Toronto for $47 million in 2005 that was the biggest at the time for a closer. He underwent Tommy John surgery after the first season and never regained his form.

Aroldis Chapman signed for six years with Cincinnati after defecting from Cuba, and his $30.25 million contract is paying big dividends: a closer with the biggest fastball in the majors.

As for Doolittle, he should have plenty of life left in his arm, considering he started pitching three years ago. The A’s have their best overall reliever in the books, and Doolittle gets some security. Good deal all around.